On the way back from the New Zealand premiere of Anthill’s new film Strength in Numbers I stopped in to check some new stuff from FSA and Gravity at Wide Open Distributors. Unfortunately customs were not cooperating and the 2013 stuff wasn’t quite there yet, but Matt did have a 2012 Turner 5 Spot all built up for a shred in the forest. It’s not too different from its predecessors, although you’ll notice out back it’s now rocking a 12mm axle and one burly as hell dropout. There’s also new cable routing and then the most obvious thing is that new bendy downtube, which creates a little extra space down in the shock area to allow coil shocks more room to breathe. Also, that MRP 2x guide isnt BB mounted anymore; the 2012 Turner 5 Spot features ISCG05 tabs.
Matt was also very keen to show off his brand new set of hand built (by Wide Open) Enve/Chris King carbon wheels. These things are pretty damn sexy and feature a super huge bead width and are just a little oversized, but don’t let the size fool you; these burly all-mountain hoops come in at 1575 grams a pair.
I should mention that those hoops are attached to some 2012 Marzocchi 55RC3 Ti Evo forks. We tested these a couple of years ago and absolutely loved them, but they’ve been on a diet since then and their 170mm of plushness now comes in at 2417grams. Git sum. Oh did I mention they have a three year warranty? No? Well they do…
FSA’s 2×10 386 cranks have been rocking three bolts for the past couple of years but for 2013 they will be looking more like these triples and heading to a four bolt patten, allowing a little more choice for customers going for aftermarket chainrings.
Customs were holding onto some new Gravity bars as well. The 740mm wide CSI flat bar has been out a while and in six weeks it will have a brother in the form of a 15mm rise version. Both bars feature a 9 degree backsweep and weigh in at 240 grams. The CSI is an alloy/carbon hybrid bar designed for DH/AM/Freeride and and offers a bit more resilience than a standard carbon bar when it comes to over-tightening stems and grips, and it also adds a bit more toughness when it come to impacts (crashing).
Oh, and we went riding. Matt on his first run down Billy T on the new 5 Spot.
A very Sick ride..
A very Sick ride…
A very sick ride..
Still rocking a straight headtube, interesting
Straight 44mm headtube on the 5 Spot, but with the Chris King InSet 7 you can run a tapered fork steerer or a straight steerer, single crown or dual crown. Tons of down tube clearance with the external lower 1.5 cup. Best of all worlds.
No review of how the frame performed? Or the forks?
Its just a bike check i’m afraid, we didn’t get to ride it… but we have asked!
We love these bikes, and they perform real nice here in Oakridge, Oregon.